Namco Bandai
is an arcade, mobile and home video game developer and publisher based in Japan which is the product of a merger between the video game development divisions of Bandai and Namco. Namco Bandai Games is a wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings (NBHD) and specializes in production and sales of home video games. It is the head company of Bandai Namco Group's Game Contents Strategic Business Unit (SBU). In North America, the U.S.-based Namco Bandai Games America represents the company as a regional publisher, while in PAL territories, publishing is handled by Namco Bandai Games Europe with distribution through Namco Bandai Partners. The company has its headquarters in Shinagawa, Tokyo."Corporate Overview." Namco Bandai Games. Retrieved on March 16, 2010. History left|thumb|NBGI Headquarters (formerly [[Shinagawa Panasonic Building)]] In early 2005, Namco Ltd. and Bandai Co. Ltd. announced plans to combine their operations. The merger took effect in September of that same year and both companies came under the umbrella of the newly created Namco Bandai Holdings. On March 31, 2006, the game division of Bandai was merged to Namco and renamed Namco Bandai Games. In the United States, the Namco Hometek subsidiary was renamed to Namco Bandai Games America. On April 1, 2008, Banpresto's video game operations were absorbed by Namco Bandai Games as well. On August 6, 2008, it was announced that Bandai Networks Co. Ltd, Namco Bandai's mobile phone business, would be dissolved and absorbed into Namco Bandai Games on April 1, 2009.KatanaXtreme.com - Namco Bandai Games Inc. to Take Over Bandai Networks Co., Ltd. Surge label At the end of 2008, just prior to the release of Afro Samurai, Namco Bandai Games announced the Surge publishing label. The new label was an attempt at creating a separate identity for the company, aimed at a Western audience desiring more mature themes in game content. Following Afro, early press materials indicated that Dead to Rights: Retribution and Splatterhouse would also be released under the Surge label, but neither game ultimately did; both were released with a retro Namco label instead to reflect the series' legacy. As of 2010, Afro is still the only game to have been released as a Surge title. However, more games will be on the way when Surge announced that they will publish 2 Days to Vegas by Steel Monkeys. PlayStation Home Namco Bandai Games has released a Home Space for the Asian, Japanese, and North American versions of PlayStation Home. There are two rooms. The first room, the "Game Arena" (Asia & Japan), or "Namco Arcade Center" (North America), has all the Namco Museum.com/Essentials arcade machines, a "Vending Machine" that gives users a Namco Museum Soda Can for their personal space, a "Money Exchange Machine" that give users a Namco Museum Coin for their personal space, "The Idolmaster SP Wandering Star, Perfect Sun, & Missing Moon Vending Machines" (lets users play roulette to get cans that features the various idols and a Haruka costume), two video screens, a "Love Seat" and seating for the avatars. The second room, the "Community Arena" (Asia & Japan), or the "Namco Theatre" (North America), is a mini-museum featuring displays for Soul Calibur IV, Ridge Racer 7, and Tekken 6, as well as video screens behind each display, "The Idolmaster SP 961 Production Vending Machine", and seats for the avatars. This space was released in Japans version of Home on December 11, 2008, in the Asian version on March 26, 2009, and in the North American version on July 16, 2009. References External links * Namco Bandai Games, Inc. * Namco Bandai Games America, Inc. * Namco Bandai Games Europe * Namco Bandai Games, Inc. profile on MobyGames Category:Companies